Skype is about to launch a Web TV service

The founder of Kazaa file sharing service and Internet phone software Skype plans to launch an Internet TV channel with advertising in the near future.

Called Venice, the project will provide high-quality TV programs to users for free, provided they have a broadband Internet connection, Skype's co-founder, Janus Friss said.

" We will" present "the new service as soon as it feels it has run smoothly and the content is rich enough. I guess it won't be long before it's just a matter of another 1.2 months, " Friis revealed to the Danish press.

" This is a system where professional TV shows (to distinguish them from YouTube homegrown content) can be widely released to the Internet public ," he said, not forgetting to emphasize that he has negotiated with a variety of television manufacturers around the world.

" Of course we do not want to go to court again, " Friis recalled when he was running Kazaa, P2P networks were sued by litigation firms for sharing free copyrighted songs.

The success of a new service depends a lot on the time, and it seems that Internet users are very much ready for a video service, considering YouTube's rapid success and slow coverage of TV stations. many countries in the world.

Earlier this month, YouTube, the paradise of self-made video clips, was bought by Google search giant for $ 1.65 billion of shares. Meanwhile, Skype's VoIP service - founded by Friis and friend Niklas Zennstrom, was also sold to eBay for $ 4.1 billion.

" Need to catch the moment, or else it will fail. We used to be lucky with Kazaa and Skype, now hope history will repeat with new projects, " Friis said.

Trong Cam